Bob Carr in his opus on books My Reading Life asked the question: do some art forms reach a high water mark and exhaust themselves? Like opera in the 19th century, or Shakespeare's plays?

The actor Peter Rowsthorn expressed a similar sentiment when reflecting on his part in Oscar Wilde's classic play The Importance of Being Earnest.

"The dialogue that's given to you is really full, and really beautiful, and you go, gee, we've dropped the ball in terms of writing," he said.

Peter is better known for his role as Brett in the hit television series Kath and Kim. With so much time on the screen, it was a slightly daunting prospect to go back to the stage.

"I haven't done any theatre for a while and I was offered to do something else for Black Swan and I said, I can't do it, it's too hard for me, because I haven't done theatre for a little while . . . then this came up and I said yes, I can do that, because the part wasn't too big," he said.

In retrospect, Peter, who calls himself the 'plot tool' of this play, wishes he'd put his hand up for a bigger role.

"I'm hanging around backstage a hell of a lot . . . it's a great production to be in and everyone in it is fantastic, but sometimes I get a bit jealous that they're out there and I'm not."

The Importance of Being Earnest will be performed live in Perth by the Black Swan State Theatre Company and simultaneously screened at a number of regional centers in WA, including Sun Pictures in Broome and the Lyric Theatre in Bunbury.

Audiences can judge for themselves whether theatre reached its high watermark with Shakespeare, or whether subsequent playwrights have been able to keep the art form vibrant and alive.